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Tuesday, December 13, 2011

The Bare Bones & Roots of Hip hop is a showcase of hip hop, soul, jazz, funk and blues by local DJ’s, producers, live instrumentalists and vocalists.

Come and see DJ VSP, ALTA, THE FUNK N SOUL BRASS BROTHERS, DJ DAMEZA and special guest vocalists perform their own take on soul, funk blues and jazz tunes which have paved the way for hip hop classics of today.

- THIS IS A BENEFIT GIG FOR THE ANNUAL SOUTH WEST COAST MARINE DEBRIS CLEAN UP.

Mobius is proud to donate $1 from every ticket to this great cause…

Spread the word and rally the troops. The last Wednesday at Mobius for 2011 will be large!

See below for more artist info.

// The Funk n Soul Brass Brothers //

After playing their debut gig at the Tasmanian Beerfest the boys are amped to be playing at Mobius. With the Falls Festival show fast approaching expect a new set, with a twist…

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Every year thousands of tonnes of marine debris washes up on our coastlines as a result of poor waste management from both recreational and commercial fishing activities. Much of this rubbish also enters our waterways & oceans through the inconsiderate disposal of unwanted goods at our very doorstep – in our cities, and towns. Around Australia, 80% of our population is distributed within 50km of the coast - Testimony to our love of the beaches and oceans surrounding our Island homes. In order to preserve our coastal havens, we must act now, to preserve these areas for future generations.

When: 10.30am Sunday 11 December

Meet at: Marion Bay Car park

What to bring: Sunscreen, sunhat, rain jacket, snacks and something to keep you hydrated while we’re on the beach (we will provide bags for rubbish).

Afterwards: we will sort the rubbish, and record data.

After afterwards: we will head back into town for a debrief & a well-earned beer.

We hope that this will be the first of many clean-ups around the beaches surrounding Hobart, so if you have any suggestions on future sites to clean, please let us know.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Today Johnny Abegg, Patagonias representative on the 2011 cleanup released his web piece for the world too see. Johnny although a little seasick and tired to start with was an integral part of the team for cleanup 2011, helping on the beach during the day, filming and helping with the count of an evening. Our promise of epic waves didnt eventuate but as his movies and photos will attest the trip was well worthwhile. Checkout Johnny's Blogsite and movies on Vimeo. Cheers Johnny you are welcome back on the cleanup anytime.

Monday, May 2, 2011

The 2011 South West Coast Marine Debris Cleanup saw 23 volunteers embark to the West Coast of Tasmania on four commercial fishing vessels, the biggest contingent in the cleanup's history.

In total 18,357 items were collected off six beaches totalling around 3.5 tonnes. In material terms 93% of the rubbish was plastic comprised mainly of rope, bottles and miscellaneous plastic pieces and 4.5% was metal mainly as aluminium cans. Small pieces of plastic, caps and lids continue to be found in increased numbers and these along with small pieces of rope and bait box straps accounted for over 70% of the rubbish items collected.

The team recovered a staggering 11,317 items in just five hours off 1.5 kilometre length of coast, the vast majority off a 200m long stretch of beach. This is by far the largest haul of items from any one area of the coast and it was only after a tip off from one of the volunteer Crayboat skippers that we uncovered this wilderness tip-face.

This year we finally recovered 'temples de rope' - three huge rope balls between 200-400 kg each that we had observed over the last few years. Aptly named by the crew as all we could do was look at them in awe due to their size. This trip, the balls were finally moved as we had access to more people power and a boat with a Hiab to lift them from the water.

The more unusual items found on the shore this year included a Fridge, a Boogie Board, a cold full can of beer and an assortment of toys including a still inflated party balloon. Once again there was rubbish from all corners of the globe including numerous Japanese, Chinese and Korean oil and food containers, fishing buoys and trawl nets.

A selection of the rubbish haul has been put aside and will be on display at Salamanca Market of the 7th of May 2011.

A massive thankyou to all the sponsors and volunteers as without your generous donations of time effort and money we could not continue this work.

The cleanup has now been running for over ten years and we are looking forward to another successful cleanup in 2012.

Friday, April 22, 2011

The crew awoke on the last day of the trip under leaden skies but at least we didn't have to pick up anymore of someone else's rubbish. The Velocity and Odalisque rafted up and transferred all the Marine Debris onto the Odalisque for a quick trip up to Prince of Wales Bay in Hobart were the rubbish was to be unloaded. The Velocity headed for a quick last surf with Johnny before he headed back to warmer climes while the Miss Carmen docked in Dover to unload its crew before heading back to sea to continue fishing. The Chieftain G dropped its crew on the Odalisque and headed for a few days cruising the Channel.

In Hobart Alderman Bill Harvey turned up to check out our haul and collected a representative sample which we hope to display in the coming weeks. The total items collected on the trip was 18357 items, the biggest haul yet. It is a testament to hard work of the volunteer crew and skill of the fishermen who enabled us to access the beaches in difficult conditions. A detailed description of the items collected will be posted soon.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

The day dawned at Louisa Bay. A couple of veterans got up to check the sky. Someone said we should get to Surprise Bay. After a couple of hot egg and bacon muffins the skipper shouted "anchor man, get up and do your job". So we weighed anchor towards South Cape. Surprise Bay unfortunatley held no surprises. The surf was not on. So we steamed around the South Cape towards the Rivulet. We anchored in the middle of the bay. A few of us thought we would jump in the icy water for a wash and surf. The surf was still not on, the rip was horrendous and the waves were 3-4 foot puss. A couple of the stalwarts stayed on the boat admiring the scenery. Dave 'the wave' Wyatt, came back in a flash and said "let's get on the road" Recherche Bay needs us. We steamed past Lion Rock, but the lion was roaring far too big and angry, so we steamed around South East Cape and into Recherche Bay. Three shore parties went into clean Lookout Point, with minimal marine debris found. So we started on the sip, and then a barbie started to roar, and the girls strapped up some delicious tucker, while Steve seared the sirlions. The night presses on, the boys are playing instruments on the Velocity, farewelling the evening and celebrating the last night of the cleanup.

Morning refreshingly quiet after Monday's rain with a cool wind and an overcast sky but weather mild and fine. Our next destination was decided, Louisa Bay. Shy albatross, crested terns and fairy prion's kept Odalisque company on the water. The southern ranges to the north – Cox's Bluff and Red Pt dominant – and the sun striking Maatsuyker Island made this short passage visually stunning. The cleanup crews were dispatched starting with west Louisa Bay beach – usual rope, cans, plastic debris were found. Unusual items included a 20 ltr drum of used engine oil and a complete wet suit without a diver! Louisa Bay was quite clean after New Harbour with its 600 beer cans. Hunters and gatherers returned with abalone, crayfish and sea urchin. We had happy hour's on all boats with the main meal - to be Asian based - on the good ship Odalisque . No doubt reviews of today and plans for tomorrow will be discussed.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The crew awoke to a red and grey haze at Port Davey. A brooding North-West wind was felt. The crew was anxious with thoughts of crossing SW Cape to the southern shore of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. The Velocity left early in its sojourn across the gauntlet of SW Cape. Three to four meters of rising swell was in its wake, with an extra two meters of windy seas on top of a daunting ocean. The salty sea-dogs were hardened to such escapades but the 12 land-cats were not. The Velocity made its way towards Waterfall Bay where a boatfull of surfers dived into icy cold water for a two hour session of surfing - an absolute treat. Quite different for the Miss Carmen, towing a 1-tonne cray dinghy, whose journey around around the Cape was one of sideways scare tactics. Thoughts of calmer waters were on the crew's mind. The four boats eventually arrived. The cleanup was one of beercans, over 600 of them. A blisterly NW wind made life chilly with sand in eyes a constant hindrance. As we digest a lovely roast and vegies sipping Gillespies Giner Beer...we think of what's coming next.

A wapping 10,274 items of rubbish collected - that's a lot of bending down! Waking up to white-water and pulling pots close to the rocky coast was challenging. Hats off to Deano who recovered all, with plenty of crayfish. Missed cleaning the beaches :{ amazed by the effort the other guys put in. Who would be anywhere else? Seven hours on the beach in two split teams, saw Matty and I trying to convince each other, via two-way radio, that we had more rubbish than either team... the on board evening sort showed that we were probably both right... WHAT A HAUL! Looking at the back of the boat carrying the rubbish tonight, the view resembles something similar to a whole seven days effort from previous trips... everyone has fingers crossed for a rest day????!!!... to be continued...

Sunday, April 17, 2011

After a starry moonlit night the crew started the day under thick clouds with a quick surf and brisk walk the length of Button Bay Beach. The full team had the beach clean before 4 o'clock except for a massive 300+ kilo rope. We unravelled a third of the rope and used it to tow the rest through the breakers in the Zodiac. We totalled 2361 pieces of rubbish for the day. Best item found by the crew was a cold full can of beer. Marcos unleashed his Brazilian black beans and Emma her chilli con carne on the crew at was a great way to end a long strenuous day.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Today the south-easterly weather receded and the sunshine poked through the clouds as the SW marine debris flotilla made its way around the spectacular southern Tasmanian coastline.

The Odalisque crew cruised past South West Cape and were treated to sightings of schools of common dolphins as well as a couple of albatross hotspots. Meanwhile the Velocity crew started beachcombing around 10am after steaming all night.

After a good feed the boats rendezvoused at the Giblin, most for the first time. After a brief run-down on the craft of rubbish-collecting from Matt, team Marine Debris were digging out a 3m2 nest of tangled rope and after half an hour of frenzied digging and straining, the triumphant team hauled the 400kg coloured spaghetti mass to the water's edge where it was transferred to the Odalisque by zodiac.

The rest of the afternoon was punctuated by another mammoth dig and slow wandering along the sunny beach collecting more plastic and ropey treasures. The beach was clean with the removal of only 1881 items, less than half of last years total.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Thursday morning has dawned and the wind has dropped a bit. Sill looks a bit to lumpy to load the Velocity at Southport so we will move the boat to Dover for load up. The Odalisque will depart from Prince of Wales Bay around 11 with a crew of 8. The Chieftan is departing from Margate at around 11. The Miss Carmen is waiting to load up at Dover. bWe will hang and wait for slop to ease before we head around the coast later this evening.

Well we had a hectic couple of days getting the supplies together. Spikey and I helped out Sam with some bottling down at Gillespies at Bream Creak. Sam Generously donated 20 Cases of Ginger Beer to the trip.Then it was off to the Wurtshaus wholesale shop out in Cambridge to pick up $1000 worth of gourmet meats and prepared meals.Next stop was the supermarket for some serious shopping. With Help from Spikey, Madeline and Anais we managed to fill 5 trolleys to the brim. Hopefully we didnt forget anything.

Last stop was The Hill Street Grocer for some nice fresh fruit and veges. They looked after us with a good discount. All set now we just have to fit it all on the boats.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Its three days until departure and the crew is getting ready for a dash to the West Coast of Tasmania. The weather looks favorable for a quick cleanup of the West Coast from Friday to Monday before the weather will force us to either shelter in Port Davey or head along the South Coast of Tasmania.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Pieter Van Der Woude from Tasmanian Boat Charters has kindly offered the services of his 60 foot Boat the Odalisque for the cleanup this year. The addition of the Odalisque will ensure we can clean the beaches very efficiently this year. The list of volunteers for the 2011 trip has grown to 17 the biggest contingent we have taken down.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

The Coastal Custodians fundraiser at the Brisbane Hotel was a fantastic evening with over 130 patrons turning out for the outstanding enertainment. Many Thanks to the Brisbane Hotel for hosting the vent and to all the bands for their generous donation of time, skill and sweat. Red Herring donated the stash of legropes that were give aways through the night. The proceeds from the evening will help pay for the food for the trip and hopefully cover some of the cost of chartering and extra boat so we can get some more volunteers around the coast. Look out for a bigger and better fundraiser next year. Thanks to all those who turned out on the night.

Friday, January 7, 2011

The dates have been set for the 2011 Cleanup trip. The trip will leave weather dependant on the 14th of April for a week aiming to be be back on or around Good Friday. This trip once again sees All last years boats and sponsors participating and hopefully a few new faces.Stay tuned for further updates and a chance to win a berth on one of the boats. Happy summer surfing! and please respect the beach.